On August 13, 2020, in a bipartisan request, key members of the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee and U.S. Senate Finance Committee asked that the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) conduct a follow-on investigation and prepare a report on industry and supply chain conditions affecting COVID-19 products. A copy of the letter is here. The ITC report builds on an investigation conducted earlier this year by the ITC on COVID-19-related goods, U.S. imports, and tariffs, which is available here.
The follow-on investigation and report will provide "detailed information on COVID-related industry sectors and particular products[.]"1 Specifically, it will provide:
- An overview of key U.S. industry sectors that produce COVID-19-related goods, which include but are not limited to medical devices, personal protective equipment, and pharmaceuticals (the overviews will contain information on production, employment, and trade in these sectors); and
- Case studies on key products within each industry sector, including N95 respirators, ventilators, vaccines, and COVID-19 test kits (the case studies will focus on products for which there were reported shortages in the first half of 2020, including those affected by supply chain issues).
The ITC's report will contain information related to, among other things, factors affecting domestic production, including market-entry regulatory requirements, and foreign trade barriers and restrictions The ITC is expected to deliver its report to Congress no later than December 15, 2020.
Venable is monitoring these and other COVID-19-related issues. Please contact the authors or any Venable attorney if you have specific questions about COVID-19-related goods and U.S. imports and tariffs.
[1] Letter to the Chairman of the U.S. Int'l Trade Comm'n from the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance, August 13, 2020, available at https://www.usitc.gov/research_and_analysis/official_request_ltr_covid_19_332580.pdf.